Dinesh Karthik once again proved his worth as the designated finisher in the Indian team, and why the management trusts him so much in this role. With the second T20I against Australia, in Nagpur, on the line, and hence the series, Karthik needed only two balls to fulfil the requirement of 9 runs off the last 6 balls.
Daniel Sams went round the wicket and aimed to cramp Karthik for room, bowling an off-cutter length delivery on the stumps. Karthik crouched a little and swiped his bat, connecting sweetly, sending the ball over backward square leg for a maximum. With just 3 needed off 5 balls, the 37-year-old pulled the next delivery to the leg-side fence for a boundary to seal the deal.
In a brief interview shortly after he’d finished the game, Karthik hilariously trolled former India head coach Ravi Shastri, who is now part of the commentary team.
Dinesh Karthik has sealed his place in India’s XI for T20 World Cup
Shastri began the conversation by saying that finishing now seems an “easy game” for Karthik.
“The finisher is with us. Easy game, DK. Two balls, a piece of cake. Six, Four, Thank You very much!” Shastri told Karthik in his energetic manner.
Karthik, however, reminded Shastri of his own words that he had said to him during their time at the India camp.
“You are the one who taught me to say, ‘it’s never an easy game’, Ravi bhai! Don’t go back on that, please. It’s a hard game, you know how it is!” Karthik replied smilingly; his reply led to laughter in the commentary box and on social media among fans who recalled that it was under the Kohli-Shastri tenure that Karthik was dropped from the T20I team for two years after 2019 when he failed in the ODI format.
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When asked about what he was chatting with skipper Rohit Sharma who was in the middle when DK walked in to bat, Karthik revealed: “There was not too much talk. Rohit was trying to tell me this is what the bowler would do, I had my plans. As a middle order batter it is about execution. It feels good to hit the winning runs.”
Speaking of the positives for Team India from this victory, Karthik said, “Rohit with the bat and Axar with the ball stood out, good to see Bumrah back. We need to take the momentum forward. 1-1 is a good score. You want to play those crunch games”
Axart returned with terrific figures of 2/13 in 2 overs in a game where runs were scored at over 11 runs an over, while Bumrah, playing his first international after two months, yorked Finch in his first over in the game. In the chase of 91 in 8 overs, Rohit remained unbeaten on 46 off 20 balls and bagged the Player of the Match award.
With the series now level at 1-1, both teams travel to Hyderabad for the third and deciding match of the series, slated for Sunday (September 25).
